A SideDeck Story
by Ommy
Summary: There are several duels that occur within Battle City. Some are serious business, some are done for fun, and some are more personal. Nonetheless, these duels are happening - shaping dynamically in their own unique ways. This is one such duel.
1. I Accept! Unexpected Beatdown!

_A/N: Ye Gods! Whoever thought _I_ would write again! This story was actually based on some real duels I've had with my friends (yes, I'm a loser XD). I always told them it was the kind of duel one would want to remember, so I thought I would record it in story form. I've kept the English card names (since those are the cards I'm most familiar with). The story is set within the Battle City arc, but is obviously aside from the main characters (hence the title)._

_I need to update more... curses school and work_

Disclaimer: I don't own _Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters_, otherwise I would be able to win duels with better cards I can create for myself. --;

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The afternoon sun shone brightly as a young teen peered around for challenges from his patio seat at a local cafe. His face exhumed an aura of nervousness and excitement, as he sipped his cola. He brushed aside the long strands of brown hair away from his face and clutched his Duel Monsters deck tightly within his right hand. Never did he suspect that he would be given the chance to participate in Battle City; it was an honor to be recognized.

He didn't think he was the best duelist - not even a very strong one. No. What Corey wanted was to have fun and improve his ability. He always saw life as an adventure and didn't care too much about winning or losing. Sure winning was enjoyable and was fun to try and achieve, but the real fun for Corey was just playing the game.

Once Corey had finished his drink, he slipped his locator card in his pocket and fastened his Duel Disk firmly to his left wrist. He carefully loaded his cards into the slot and set off to find an opponent.

As he passed down the main roads of the city, Corey noted the many duels already in progress. The city was bursting with activity. Along his way, Corey noticed a large crowd gathered around a shadowy man dressed in a dark purple robe dueling a confident-looking teen with the wackiest hairdo imaginable.

_Who in their right mind has tri-coloured hair,_ he thought to himself. He shrugged it off and kept on going, impatiently searching for a good duel.

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As Corey searched, he found himself in a crowded street where everyone was tightly packed together. He finally found a clearing and decided to walk through it to allow him to get to the next block faster.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A deep voice asked in an annoyed tone. "You're blocking my fans from my demonstration and tutorial." Corey turned around to see a young adult with short, spiky hair that was slightly taller than himself. He looked proud and confident, and the audience seemed captivated with him.

"Excuse me," Corey apologized. "I just wanted to get through." He started to make his way out slowly.

"Get going, kid!" a figure from the crowd admonished. "You're interrupting Andy's lesson!" Corey was insulted.

"Kid, what's your name?" the young man interrogated.

"It's Corey," the teen snappily replied. "And don't call me 'kid'."

"Well whatever," Andy dismissed condescendingly. "I see you have a Duel Disk. Have you been in any duels yet?" Corey shook his head. "Are you being honest, or did you lose and are too ashamed to admit it?" The crowd laughed and murmured. Corey blushed slightly, his embarrassment becoming irritation.

"I've been looking for someone all day to face," Corey noted, holding up his sole locator card. "But I'm not looking for trouble."

"Well perhaps you should be a little more proactive and actually walk up to someone with the balls to challenge them," jeered Andy, displaying his four locator cards as trophies. Again the crowd seemed amused. "Perhaps if you took Duel Monsters more seriously, you'd be farther along in the tournament."

"I just want to have some fun and learn more about the game," declared Corey. "Don't act like you have me figured out as it is. It's a game, and games are about having fun. If I wasn't having fun with Duel Monsters, then I wouldn't play."

"And that is why you will never be a champion," said Andy. "Games are a lot like life - the strong advance and leave the weak behind. Just because the stakes aren't as high, doesn't mean it has lesser significance. Don't act like you do not find pleasure in victory, because all of us do. We play to win, because we seek that pleasure. Loss only sets us farther from our goals."

"You preach quite a lot over a simple card game," Corey mocked. "Maybe you should demonstrate your ideals to me and see if they have any merit." The crowd went silent.

"I assume that you are challenging me?" Andy queried.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Corey responded. "I'd like to see how my ideals match up against yours."

"Very well... Duels always end so quickly with me," Andy stated. "Let's change the rules a bit. How about a best 2 duels out of 3 match with our Life Points set to 8000 instead of the standard 4000. The winner will take the loser's best Duel Monsters card and _all_ his locator cards." He lifted his left arm, ready to go. "Do you accept?"

"Sounds good to me," Corey sneered, as he lifted his left arm. "I'll give it all I've got!"

"DUEL!" they both shouted in unison. Their Duel Disks opened and unfolded while the hologram projectors shot out and placed themselves strategically around the two duelists. Both players set their Life Points to 8000 as agreed, and drew five cards. The crowd cheered Andy on as the duel was underway.

"You can go first," Andy declared nonchalantly. Corey nodded and drew a card. He looked at his hand before him and got an idea right away.

"I play one monster in defense mode," said Corey, an image of a card appeared before him. "End turn."

"That was an uneventful beginning," Andy jeered as he drew. "I summon **Gemini Elf** (**4/1900/900**) in attack mode." Two beautiful elves appeared before him. "Go! Attack the facedown monster!"

The twin elves launched their attack and revealed the facedown monster to be Sangan, which was immediately destroyed. Using the effect of his fallen monster, Corey searched his deck for an appropriate monster to put in his hand.

"My move," Corey noted and drew. "Hmm, I use **Premature Burial**, sacrificing 800 of my Life Points (**Corey: 7200**) to bring back **Sangan** (**3/1000/600**) in attack mode!" Sangan resurrected itself from the graveyard and appeared once again on the field. "End turn."

"Very well," Andy uttered, drawing a card. "I play **Heavy Storm** to destroy your Premature Burial card, thus destroying the Sangan that's attached to it." A furious gust of wind swept the field, destroying the two cards on Corey's side. Corey searched for another monster using Sangan's effect yet again. "I then play **Breaker the Magical Warrior** (**4/1600/1000**) in attack mode." A striking magical soldier in bright orange and purple armor appeared. "Both monsters shall attack your Life Points directly!" Corey braced himself as both monsters attacked (**Corey: 3400**).

"Hey wait a minute!" Corey whined as he saw his Life Point indicator as he drew a card. "I should be at 3700."

"Breaker has an effect to it," Andy corrected. "When he is normal summoned, a token is placed on him that boosts his attack by 300 points."

"What does the token do?" Corey asked.

"Wait and see," Andy smirked. "Make your move."

"Right!" Corey shouted. "Time to put my plan into action! I summon **Sonic Bird** (**4/1400/1000**), the first monster I retrieved with Sangan, in attack mode!" A fat eagle wearing goggles and a jetpack appeared on the field. "This card has a lovely effect that allows me to bring a ritual magic card to my hand from my deck when it is summoned. The card I choose is the **Black Illusion Ritual**."

"Damn," Andy silently cursed. "This might be troublesome."

"I assume you know what comes next," Corey chuckled. "And I think you know the monster I searched for when I got Sangan's effect the second time. Now, I use the ritual card, sacrificing my Sonic Bird to bring forth **Relinquished** (**1/0/0**)!" The Sonic Bird became energy and transferred its essence towards the ritual, creating the hideous, dark monster with a single, gold eye. "Relinquished will now absorb your Gemini Elf!" Corey's monster sucked in the twin elves and stole their power (**Relinquished: 1900/900**). "I put two cards facedown and I end my turn." Those in the audience whispered concerns to one another.

"All right then," Andy casually uttered and yawned as he drew. "Time to end this. I play **Change of Heart** to take control of your Relinquished." The effect of the magic card made Relinquished turn to face Corey in an attack stance. "And now I shall use the token on Breaker to remove one of your facedown cards. I wonder which I should remove."

_Crap,_ thought Corey. _Pick the wrong one_.

"I destroy the last card you put down!" Andy declared. Breaker pointed its sword to the facedown card and released a burst of negative energy. Corey smirked.

"Too slow, bucko!" Corey yelled out loud. "I'll activate this quick-play magic before it is destroyed. Activate **Scapegoat**!" Instantly, four tokens in the shape of fluffy, little goats appeared on his side of the field, and the negative energy fizzled out.

"Very well," Andy sighed. "Breaker and Relinquished will destroy two of your useless goats." The monsters advanced on the tokens.

"No they won't!" Corey interjected. "Reveal trap - **Mirror Force**!" Andy's eyes went wide as a transparent barrier raised around the goats. The two attacking monsters were destroyed.

"Okay..." Andy stated, confused. "Why didn't you just take the attack? You would have gotten your Relinquished back at the end of my turn and would have had an advantage. I play one card facedown and end my turn."

"...I knew that," Corey stated, while inwardly cursing himself for being that stupid and impulsive. He drew a card and looked at his hand. "I play **Monster Reborn** to bring back your Gemini Elf and-"

"This time _you're_ too slow!" Andy called out. "Reveal trap - **Call of the Haunted**! _I_ bring back the same Gemini Elf from the graveyard before Monster Reborn can get to it. You just wasted a good magic card." Corey growled and motioned for Andy to go. Andy drew and laughed as soon as he saw the card. "This is where you'll see the downside to Scapegoat. I won't need Gemini Elf at all for this turn."

"What do you mean by that?" Corey asked.

"This round is over," stated Andy. "I play **Spear Dragon** (**4/1900/0**) in attack mode!" A small dragon with a sharp, elongated snout appeared on the field. "I'll play another card facedown and boost my dragon with **Mage Power**! There are three cards in my Magic and Trap zone, so my monster's attack and defense are boosted by 1500 points (**Spear Dragon: 3400/1500**)!"

"So?" the young teen retorted. "I'm still well protected."

"Foolish kid," Andy mocked. "Spear Dragon has a useful effect to me right now. When it attacks a monster, the difference between its attack and your monster's defense will be taken out of your Life Points. Spear Dragon goes into defense mode after attacking, but that drawback is negligible in this specific instance."

"But..." Corey uttered helplessly. "My goat tokens have no defense..."

"Exactly!" shouted Andy. "As I said, this round is over. It's as good as direct damage. Spear Dragon, attack one of his tokens!" The dragon obeyed and impaled its horned nose through a goat and straight to Corey's Life Points (**Corey: 0**).

The holograms faded and they both stood alone. Corey furrowed his eyebrows and growled softly, staring down his opponent. The crowd gave an uproarious cheer for Andy for another incredible victory.

"This duel isn't over just yet," Corey reminded the young man while gritting his teeth. "We still have to go again."

"But of course," Andy concurred with a smug smirk. "However the outcome will be the same. But you never know...maybe you'll actually _touch_ my Life Points in the next round before you lose."

That was it! Corey wasn't going to take Andy's arrogance anymore. Corey was always one for fun and games, and didn't mind losing once in a while, but now he felt like he had something to prove to the young man before him. The guy needed to be brought down off his high horse, and Corey was determined to be the one to boot him.

They shuffled their decks again and prepared themselves for the next round. Both of them lifted their left arms in unison and glared at each other.

"DUEL!"

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To be continued....


	2. Defy YataGarasu! Go, Wave Motion Cannon!

A/N: I actually wrote this a while ago. I wonder why it took so long to update.

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The crowd became silent again as their Life Point gauges were reset to 8000, and the duel began. Both duelists drew their initial five cards.

"Loser decides who goes first," Andy noted smugly.

"I'll go," scoffed Corey as he drew and placed a card and monster facedown. "I play **Pot of Greed** so I may draw two new cards, and I end my turn."

"If you thought the last duel was frustrating, then you're in for a treat this time," said Andy, drawing a card. "I play **The Forceful Sentry**, allowing me to see your hand and put one card back into your deck." Corey reluctantly walked up to Andy and revealed Monster Reborn, Spirit Reaper, United We Stand, Metamorphosis, and Mage Power. "Your Spirit Reaper monster will go back in your deck." Corey put the card back in and shuffled his deck. "Moreover, I play **Confiscation**, sacrificing 1000 of my Life Points (**Andy: 7000**) to send another card from your hand into the graveyard. In this case, I select Monster Reborn."

"All right then," Corey muttered as he put distance between himself and the older duelist. "Are you done?"

"Not exactly," Andy smirked. "You know, what's amusing? The fact that I damaged myself more than you did and more than you ever will."

"Shut up and finish off your turn," Corey retorted.

"Very well," complied Andy. "I play two cards facedown as well as **Luster Dragon** (**4/1900/1600**) in attack mode." A ferocious, sapphire-coloured baby dragon appeared on the field. Andy considered that the facedown card was a trap and decided not to attack. "End turn."

"Right, I draw," Corey said as he drew, inwardly cursing the fact that Andy didn't attack.

"Not so fast!" Andy shouted. "Reveal trap - **Drop Off**! This trap can be activated on your draw phase. You must immediately discard that card!" Corey discarded a Mirror Wall and ended his turn. Andy drew and set another card facedown. "I end my turn."

"My move," Corey stated and drew.

"Reveal trap - **Drop Off**!" Andy interjected. Corey furiously groaned and discarded Graceful Charity.

"I flip over my facedown monster into attack mode - the **Magician of Faith** (**1/300/400**)!" Corey declared. A beautiful maiden in blue and purple robes appeared. "This will allow me to get a magic card back from the card graveyard. I choose to bring **Pot of Greed** back to my hand, use it, and end my turn. I'm sure you'll want to attack me now."

"Nice try, kid," chuckled Andy as he picked up a new card. "I don't fall for those tricks. I play one card facedown and end my turn."

"Should I just discard the next card I pick up?" asked Corey. Andy nodded and grinned, activating a third **Drop Off**. Corey discarded a Summoned Skull. "Well at least I won't have to worry about anymore of those annoying cards. Yeesh, what were the odds of those three appearing so close together!"

"Pretty slim, but I'm not complaining," Andy replied. "It just helps my strategy along at a faster rate."

"Anyway, I'm going to finish my move," Corey noted. "I play **Metamorphosis**, which allows me to transform a monster into a fusion monster with the same level of stars. I use it on my Magician of Faith to morph her into... **Thousand Eyes Restrict** (**1/0/0**)!" The magician distorted and changed shape into a grotesque monster even more hideous than Relinquished. "I shall now absorb your dragon and equip **Mage Power** and **United We Stand** to boost my monster even further (**TER: 4700/4400**)! And now, I shall attack you directly!" Corey's monster built up an enormous amount of energy and fired it towards Andy.

"I will not allow that," stated Andy. "Reveal trap - **Waboku**! All battle damage is reduced to zero and I shall remain unharmed." Three peaceful maidens appeared and caused the attack to fizzle out into nothingness.

"Nuts!" Corey interjected. "I end my turn."

"I draw," Andy said, picking up a card. "Firstly, I play my own **Pot of Greed** to draw two cards. "Now I shall play **Harpie's Feather Duster** to destroy all the magic and trap cards you have. I'm sure that besides my monster and your power-up cards, I probably destroyed Mirror Force, didn't I?" Cody growled. "I shall now play one monster facedown and end my turn."

"My move," said Corey, drawing a card. "Thousand Eyes Restrict shall absorb your facedown monster!"

"...You do know you won't have any attacking power, right?" Andy questioned, perplexed.

"...I knew that!" Corey replied. "You still can't attack due to my monster's effect. That is, if you _had_ a monster with which to attack. I end my turn."

"Very true," concurred Andy as he drew. "But now you cannot absorb another monster. I play **Monster Reborn** to bring back my Sapphire Dragon and sacrifice it for **Jinzo** (**6/2400/1500**)! End turn."

"I draw," Corey stated. "I play one card facedown and end my turn."

"Okay then," Andy noted as he picked up a card. "I play **Raigeki** to destroy your monster." A large bolt of lightning crashed down on Corey's Thousand Eyes Restrict, and destroyed it. "My monster that you equipped to yours was my Witch of the Black Forest. Since she's now in my graveyard, I shall search for an appropriate monster - one that shall bring about my victory." Andy searched through his deck, pulled out a monster card and shuffled. "Jinzo shall now attack you directly!" Jinzo formed a dark energy ball within its hands and fired it towards Corey.

"I will not allow it!" shouted Corey. "I activate **Scapegoat**!" Four tokens appeared, just as the assault from Jinzo reached Corey, wiping away one goat token.

"I end my turn," Andy muttered impatiently. Corey drew his card.

"Oh you'll love this," Corey giggled. "I play **Creature Swap**! This magic card will allow us to choose one monster on our field and switch control of it. I select one of my goat tokens. What will you select?"

"Wipe that smug grin off your face and take the Jinzo," Andy sighed. A token moved over to Andy's side and Jinzo did the same for Corey.

"I attack your token with Jinzo!" declared Corey. Jinzo obeyed and obliterated the token. "You're not looking to good, bucko. You haven't touched my Life Points yet."

"That won't matter in a moment," Andy stated. "You shall see."

"I doubt that," Corey responded. "I play one card facedown and end my turn."

"It's my move," the young man said, looking at his freshly drawn card. "This should clinch it. The final stages shall now be put in place. First, I play **Dark Hole** to destroy all monsters on the field." A pit appeared between the both of them sucking Jinzo and the tokens into it. "Next I play **Don Zaloog** (**4/1400/1500**) in attack mode." A muscular mercenary appeared on Andy's side, brandishing two short swords. "He has a very useful effect to me. You see, whenever he does damage to you, I can either randomly discard one card from your hand, or I can remove the top two cards of your deck and discard those. Don Zaloog, direct attack!" The monster rushed towards Corey and attacked the teen directly with its swords (**Corey: 6600**). "I decide that one card shall be randomly discarded from your hand." Corey's Mask of Darkness was discarded to the graveyard. "I end my turn. Draw your _final_ card."

"You seem rather confident," Corey said, drawing a card. "I play a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Witness your end," Andy declared as he drew. "I play the card I searched for with the Witch's effect a while ago - **Yata-Garasu** (**2/200/100**) in attack mode!" A small raven appeared on the field.

"What's so spectacular about that small thing?" Corey questioned.

"Yata-Garasu is a very rare card," explained Andy. "First of all, it is a spirit monster, so it cannot be special summoned, and returns to my hand at the end of my turn if it's face-up on the field. The true effect of this card, however, occurs when it damages you. It forces you to skip your draw phase." Corey's eyes widened. "Yes, now you see why I kept disrupting your hand and deck with all those cards right from the start. I was trying to remove every bit of possible defense. Once I attack, you shall not draw anymore cards ever. You will be effectively locked, and that's pretty much an instant win. There is _nothing_ you can do! Don Zaloog attacks your facedown monster." The mercenary attacked the card to reveal a winged snake, which was instantly destroyed. "And Yata will attack directly!" The raven swooped down and pecked at Corey (**Corey: 6400**). "I end my turn. Do the right thing and don't waste our time. Concede."

"This cannot be," Corey uttered to himself. "I cannot lose like this." He looked at his hand and noticed something. "Wait a minute..." He looked up at Andy. "I'm not giving up yet!" Andy gave him a funny look. "First of all, the card you just destroyed has a special effect." Corey retrieved the destroyed card. "Behold **Sinister Serpent** (**1/300/250**)! Whenever this monster exists in my graveyard, it is returned to me at my standby phase. I shall now play it in defense mode." Andy growled. "I then play my magic card - **Wave Motion Cannon**!" A whimsical-looking, green cannon appeared on Corey's side of the field. "I can choose to release the power of the cannon on one of my main phases. When it is released, it shall do 1000 points of direct damage to you multiplied by the amount of my standby phases that passed since it was activated. I end my turn"

"What?!" Andy shouted as he drew a card and looked at his hand. He had nothing useful. "No! Given the speed of this duel, I used up all my good cards right away. I don't know if I can draw another removal card in time. I play Yata, Zaloog will attack the serpent and Yata will attack you (**Corey: 6200**). I end my turn."

"The clock is ticking, Andy," Corey mocked. "The count has begun (**Cannon Energy: 1**). When it reaches seven, it shall be enough to wipe your Life Points clean. I retrieve my monster and put him in defense mode again."

"My move," Andy quickly noted. Sweat was starting to form on his face. "Damn! Still nothing! I repeat the same process (**Corey: 6000**)! End turn."

"I hope you can come up with something," Corey said sarcastically while replacing Sinister Serpent back on the field (**Cannon Energy: 2**). "I end my turn."

"I shall not lose to you," Andy retorted as he drew. "I play **Change of Heart** to put your monster in attack mode. I play Yata and all three monsters will attack you (**Corey: 4100**). End turn." Corey's monster returned to his side of the field and two of his top cards were discarded to the graveyard: Sonic Bird and Relinquished.

"My monster switches to defense mode and the counter rises," stated Corey (**Cannon Energy: 3**). "I end my turn. Tick, tock, tick, tock..."

"Be quiet!" shouted Andy as he drew. "Nothing still! I repeat the process from before (**Corey: 3900**). End turn."

"I shall repeat my process, too," Corey said as he stuck out his tongue (**Cannon Energy: 4**). "The pressure's on, bucko. End turn."

"I draw," declared the young man. "I shall play a second **Don Zaloog** instead. One will attack your monster, the other will attack you (**Corey: 2500**). I end my turn." Premature Burial and Nobleman of the Crossout were buried.

"Oh wow, looks like I _will_ draw again!" jeered Corey as he drew (**Cannon Energy: 5**). I play **Change of Heart** to control one of your Dons, and I ram it into the other one, destroying them both! I then place my recursive Serpent in defense mode once again and end my turn."

"My move," Andy said, drawing a card. "I play **Spear Dragon** (**4/1900/0**) in attack mode." The long-nosed dragon from the previous duel appeared once again. "I attack your monster (**Corey: 850**)!"

"Time's almost up," reminded Corey as he drew (**Cannon Energy: 6**). I retrieve my Serpent, but I think I'll hold onto him in my hand this time, and play another card facedown. End turn."

"It all comes down to this," Andy stated as he drew. He looked at this card and smiled. "It's over no matter what." I switch my Dragon back to attack and wipe out the rest of your Life Points with a direct attack!"

"Not exactly!" Corey intervened. "Activate trap - **Waboku**! You're not the only one who has one."

"It matters not; your trump card will be destroyed," said Andy. "I end my turn by playing **Mystical Space Typhoon** to destroy your Cannon!" A cyclone was created and made its way to Corey's cannon.

"There was a reason I kept my monster in my hand this time, Andy," noted Corey. "I point your attention to the facedown card I played before playing the cannon. Reveal trap - **Magic Jammer**! I use Sinister Serpent as tribute to activate this trap so your card will be negated!" A special seal was created around Corey's Cannon, negating the typhoon. "And now my cannon is charged enough (**Cannon Energy: 7**). Wave Motion Cannon - release!" The cannon built up a tremendous amount of energy and fired off a devastating blast, passing through Andy's monster and taking out 7000 Life Points along with it (**Andy: 0**).

The crowd talked amongst themselves in disbelief of what just happened. Meanwhile, Andy was in shock over this upset. The holograms faded and Corey kissed his deck, proud of his accomplishment.

"That was not supposed to happen," Andy stuttered. "I shouldn't have held back."

"Save your excuses," Corey shot back. "There was nothing that you could do. You were sweating!" Andy gritted his teeth. "The score is tied, bucko."

"When I win, I shall enjoy adding your Mirror Force to my collection," the young man growled.

"Well I think I'll take that Yata-Garasu off your hands should I win," said the young teen. "Only one way to find out..."

They both shuffled their decks and readied themselves again.

"DUEL!"

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To be continued...


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